Sonic Speed: Underground 2
by Light the Hedgehog 229
Summary: Sonic, a former street racer, looks to start a new life on the East Coast. He knows that the people over there don't play. But he might get a little more than he bargained for when he came to Baltimore... Sonouge later on in the story.
1. New Beginnings

Hey guys! It's TopDog229 again, but with a new story this time around. Big ups to JerichoRacoon941's _Sonic Street Racer_ series; this was the inspiration for this story. I'm taking a break from _20XX Bonnie and Clyde _for a bit, to focus on this story.

This story is basically a crossover between the Sonic Universe and one of my favorite Need for Speed games, _Need for Speed Underground 2_. Now I've beaten the game, so I know the whole plotline and such. However, I will change some plot elements, such as the city (The story will be set in Baltimore, MD) and others. Here's the cast of this story:

_Main Characters_

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Player (you in the game)

Shade the Echidna: Rachel Teller

Tails: Tommy

Rouge the Bat: Nikki Morris

Shadow the Hedgehog: Caleb Reese

_Other Characters_

Knuckles the Echidna

Espio the Chameleon

Blaze the Cat

Amy Rose (as a flag girl)

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all other characters are copyright SEGA. _Need for Speed Underground 2 _is copyright EA.

* * *

If you go to the LAX Airport on any given day, you can see many people boarding onto, departing from, or waiting on planes. And this fellow was no exception. He was a blue hedgehog wearing a leather racing jacket over a white Element tee, baggy blue jeans that were cut low to his heels, and his classic two-tone red and white shoes with a gold buckle on the outside. However he seemed very antsy, pacing the floor, wondering if his flight would be late.

Then he heard the announcement over the airport intercom:

_All passengers for Flight 115 to Baltimore, Maryland, please go to gate 3 with your ticket._

The blue hedgehog went to the gate, handed the pilot his ticket (A/N: I have no idea how airports work. Bear with me here) and boarded the plane.

As he found his seat, the blue hedgehog took a note out of a pocket in his jacket and reread it:

_Hey Sonic! I figured you might wanna get away to clear your head. Can't blame ya. Listen, when you get to Baltimore, I'll have my 2005 Acura RSX out in the front of BWI. The keys are in the envelope with this note. It's my pride and joy, so be gentle when driving it. I hope to see you soon!_

_Shade_

Sonic put the note back in his pocket, sat back and relaxed. _This is gonna be a long flight…_

As Sonic arrived at BWI, he looked around for said RSX and found it quickly. The RSX was a metallic blue, with tribal and flame vinyls on the sides, and a chain vinyl on the hood. Sonic couldn't help but be impressed.

"That's a sick ride," he commented. He found the keys and got into the RSX. He found a note on the glove compartment saying "Open Me". He opened the glove compartment, and out came an SMS Machine, telling him that it had a new message. He played the message.

As soon as he opened it, a video of Shade came up. She was wearing a purple tank top, black jeans, and racing boots.

"Hey, Sonic. Heard you finally made it to Baltimore," she said. "If you probably couldn't tell already, what you're hearing is the car's Short Message System, also known as SMS. This is how you'll receive and send messages throughout Baltimore. I didn't know if you were familiar with it or not, so I set it up for first time use. Read the instructions to find out how it works.

"Now, in the bottom-left corner of the SMS screen, you'll find a map of Baltimore. Use it often; Baltimore's pretty big. I've highlighted a car lot, or a light-blue circle, on your map where I'll be at. I want my ride back soon, so meet me at the car lot."

Sonic merely rolled his eyes, but acquiesced. He started the car, and felt it roar to life.

"Well," he said to himself, "let's get this show on the road."

* * *

The reason why I dropped you straight into _Underground 2_ is because I never actually played _Underground 1_. So I have no experience with that game.

Once again, thank you, JerichoRacoon941, for inspiring me to write this story. I'll be back with a new chapter soon!

TD229


	2. Getting His Feet Wet

Welcome back to _High Speed_! I was a bit surprised by the first review; I didn't expect _a_ review until like a week after it was put on! And to answer Metal Heartless, I would have put Rouge to play Rachel, but then I'd be missing someone for Nikki. I _really_ didn't want to put Amy as Rachel, and I had already had Blaze as a rival tuner. Cream was too young. And with all that, Shade just popped into my head.

On with the story!

Disclaimer: All Sonic characters are copyrighted by SEGA. All Need for Speed Underground 2 references and likenesses are copyrighted by EA.

* * *

Sonic stepped on the gas pedal; the car wouldn't start, leaving the hedgehog confused. He looked down, however, and found that Shade's RSX was a 5-speed stick shift, and it was put on neutral. He mentally kicked himself for not noticing earlier. He shifted into 1st gear, and started off towards the car lot on the other side of town.

As Sonic was driving, he picked up news that there would be a sprint race on East Pratt Street. Not one to resist a challenge, he made his way down.

He arrived on the scene and was met with cheers (the windows were tinted, so they didn't know it was Sonic and not Shade). The promoter for the race, a tall lavender cat wearing a midriff tee, jean shorts and sneakers walked up to the car.

"It's nice to have you here, Shade," she said unassumingly. "You don't race that often though."

The poor cat was in for a real surprise when the door opened revealing Sonic driving Shade's ride.

"Huh? You're not Shade!" She stammered, stupefied.

"No, I guess I'm not. The name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. And you are?" Sonic countered.

The cat gave him a glare. "Blaze," she replied tersely. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard over the scanner chatter that you were setting up a sprint heat. Decided to check it out."

"Ngh... It doesn't matter what—or whose—car you're driving. I will not lose to some newbie." And she went over to her car, a purple Nissan Skyline R34 GTR with flame vinyls across the doors.

Blaze turned back to look at him. "You ready for this?"

Sonic gave her a determined look. "Ready as I'll ever be."

They lined up at the starting line. As soon as the go signal was given, they raced off, leaving nothing but smoke and the smell of burnt rubber in their wake.

In the early moments, Blaze and Sonic were neck and neck, forcing each other into a stalemate. After realizing he would have to force her hand, Sonic merely dropped back and followed Blaze. As Blaze turned onto South Central Avenue, she barely sideswiped a traffic car, allowing Sonic to take the lead. She recovered quickly and got back on his tail.

Sonic tried to lose her, but she matched him move for move every time. On the turnoff onto Eastern Avenue, Blaze geared down one gear and simply drifted around the turn, gaining lost ground. Sonic, however, had to put on the handbrake and drift around the corner that way, losing time off his run.

On Eastern Avenue, Sonic had a hard time holding off Blaze. She got along side him and tried to pass him on the outside. At the very last second, Sonic used a bottle of his nitrous and barely won the sprint by a wheel pair. Needless to say, Blaze was mad, but she knew a loss was a loss, and she had to be a good sportsman.

"Not bad, kid," Blaze commented. "Ya got guts. Too bad that ain't the only thing you need to get by in Baltimore."

"Heh, thanks. That Skyline is pretty sick." Sonic said. "How'd you get it?"

"It wasn't easy. I had to win so many races just to put together enough change to _buy_ the ride, much less mod it out. And speaking of 'change', here," she said, holding out $2,700.

"This is the purse for that sprint you won." Sonic pocketed the money, and saved it for later use. Blaze also gave him her number, to tell him about any other races coming up in Baltimore.

As Sonic got back in the RSX and continued to drive to the car lot on Rolling Road, he got a message from Shade. And she was _livid._

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing!" She yelled. "Racing with _my_ car? Without _my _permission? There will be _severe_ backlash for what you've done! I'm putting you on spotlight… and that means no more racing for you – scratch that, for _anyone_ - until I say so. Get to the car lot – NOW!"

The only thought that went through Sonic's head at that moment was _I'm dead meat…_

Before long he got to the car lot and faced Shade down. She was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Finally!" She snapped, exasperated. "Where have you been?"

Sonic wanted so much to be snide towards Shade, but seeing as how she had Baltimore around her pinky, he couldn't – unless he had a death wish.

"There'd better not be a single dent in it – for your sake." She added hauntingly.

"The people back in L.A. claim you can drive," she continued. "They might be right, but you sure as hell ain't usin' my ride. Use your cash to pick out a set of wheels. Don't worry about the cost; your insurance company wired over the money from that car you lost. I'll talk to you later." She walked off, leaving Sonic to pick his new car.

In the showroom, they had the options of a 2003 Peugeot 206 GTI, a 1993 Nissan 240SX, a 1999 Mazda Miata MX5, a 2000 Honda Civic Coupe SI, a 2003 Ford Focus ZX3, and a 1986 Toyota Corolla (A/N: Tell me if I'm missing any cars). The Miata didn't appeal much to him, and neither did the Corolla. He eyed the 240SX and the Civic, but ultimately settled on the Civic. _Might as well pick the car that started the tuning industry in the first place,_ he surmised as he paid for his new ride.

While he was driving out of the car lot, he got a call from Shade.

"A'ight, kid, now that you got yourself a set of wheels, head over to my garage on West Cold Spring. Don't try lookin' for any races, because that spotlight is still in effect. Don't keep me waiting. See you there." She hung up.

"Damn!" Sonic complained. "Is there no rest for the weary?" All he wanted to do was find a hotel and rest. But he knew Shade was not someone you wanted to be on ill terms with. So he sighed and made his way to West Cold Spring.

* * *

Thanks a lot, Metal Heartless, for being so quick with the reviews. I hope to see some more stuff!

TD229


	3. The Baltimore Race Scene

(In a robotic female voice; think the voice you hear on the trains in SA1 and SA2) Welcome. You have just reached _High Speed_ chapter 3. (In normal voice) Ha! Nah, but to be real though, I can't believe you decided to read the third chapter! Insane, ain't it? I thank JerichoRaccoon941 for reviewing my story; I also have a C2 up for Sonic Street racing stories, like _High Speed_ or the _Sonic Street Racer_ series. Ain't any stories up there right now, but send me a PM if you want to be on the staff. I really need stories up on that C2.

On with the story!

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic the Hedgehog _or_ EA, I'd probably run them into the ground.

* * *

(A/N: For the sake of the story and since nothing interesting happens at this point in the actual game, I'll just drop you off at Shade's garage.)

Sonic arrived at the garage and called up Shade.

"Yo Shade, I'm here," he said. "Open the door."

"_About damn time,_" she huffed, and the door to the garage opened. Sonic slowly drove in. He got out of his car and sat down.

"Alright kid, let me show you what goes on here. Everything in the Baltimore race scene goes through _me_. And as you probably already noticed, it's the place to be. The race scene here is big." Shade explained.

"How big is it?" Sonic asked.

"I'm talking Big Show big." (A/N: Raise your hand if you love the WWE!)

Shade walked over to a map. "Whatever you like you can find if you know where to look. Drags, drifts, circuits, and so much more. It's insane; we're racing in places you wouldn't believe."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Ever since there were tuners in Baltimore, there were street racers. And the best thing about it, the cops turn a blind eye towards us, so we ain't gotta worry about nothing."

"No cops? Sweet! Back in LA., cops were everywhere; you couldn't even put vinyls on your car without them trying to look at it." Sonic told her.

"Well then, Baltimore should be a breeze for you. But back to the subject at hand. With all these races comes an opportunity for some serious money. Best of all, there's an invitation-only series called the Underground Racing League for the elite driver, where the coin and the rep are off the hook. All you need is the right cred, some good money, and the proper connections."

Shade went to sit on a stack of tires. "Remember kid, this is my town. You're a guest. So max respect. Round back is my mechanic, Tails. He's sick when it comes to cars under the hood. He'll hook you up. Follow me," Shade said as she went around to Tails' lab.

When they got there, Tails was working on his (A/N: '03?) Nissan 350Z, installing a cold air intake system and a differential.

"Yo Tails! We got someone to see you!" Shade called out; Tails got up from his car, closed the hood, wiped some of the oil from off his fur, and went up to meet them.

"Sonic, meet Tails, my master mechanic. He's the kid you want in your corner when things go to crap. I'll leave you two to get acquainted. Later," she said, walking off.

"Hey Sonic. Shade set it up so that you could handle all your business outside the garage, and she cleared out a little space for your cars. C'mon, I'll show you where you can store your rides," Tails explained as they went to a warehouse just outside of Shade's garage.

When they got there, Sonic wasn't too impressed.

"This is it?" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Yeah. It ain't much, but at least it's something. You can store your parts and gear here and there's a dyno and performance track close by where you can tune your rides. Get used to it; you'll use it often." Tails told him.

"Whatever," Sonic scoffed. He made his way back to his car and saw that Shade had sent him a message. He opened it.

"_This is an all-points bulletin to all street racers in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties,_" Shade started. "_The spotlight on Sonic the Hedgehog is now nullified. You are free to race; I repeat, you are free to race._" Sonic couldn't be any happier. As he went to find a hotel, he got a call from Shade.

"_Oh man, I almost forgot,_" Shade explained. "_There's a lotta action in the city tonight. I uploaded the race locations into your map. Get out there and start making a name for yourself!_" She hung up.

_Oh, I'll make a name for myself,_ Sonic thought._ Just not tonight. I gotta rest up. Tomorrow, I start my rise to the top._

* * *

Hmph. I don't think this is one of my longer chapters. But who knows?

As always, read, review, and check out my C2!

TD229


	4. Enter the Street Shadows

OK, just so you know, I have changed the name of this story from _High Speed_ to _Sonic Speed Underground 2_ (abbreviated SSU2). So it is no longer _High Speed_ anymore. Also, this will feature some more Sonic characters as rival tuners that I didn't put in the cast list, along with some of my OC's.

Rouge: When will you put me in the story? I want to see my Sonikku!

TD: Calm down! And, to keep it canon with the actual game, you won't _immediately_ fall in love with Sonic.

Rouge: ...Damn you EA!

Shade: *sigh*

TD: *anime sweat drop* OK... On with the story!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it?

* * *

After cooling off from a somewhat adrenalin-filled night, Sonic decided to drive around Baltimore to get a feel for the roads. He saw the Edgar Allen Poe house, drove by M&T Bank Stadium (A/N: Go Ravens!) and drove by Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Orioles were crushing the Royals. (A/N: Not in real life though...) He suddenly got a call from Tails.

"What's up?" Sonic asked.

"_I don't know if you know this or not,_" Tails started, "_but I'm in the know when it comes to all the tuner parts comin' and goin' through Baltimore. If a shop has something worth lookin' at, you'll be the first to hear about it._"

"Wow, thanks!"

"_Heh. Don't thank me just yet; I haven't figured out what you owe me in return! Call you later, kid!_" He hung up. After that, Sonic decided to partake in his first sanctioned race. He heard of a drag being set up down South Paca Street, and so he made his way down.

When he got to the drag, he was pretty much a laughingstock. The promoter for the race, a purple hedgehog with dreadlock-like quills wearing a white tee with the Ravens logo across the front, black jeans, and white and blue Nike Air shoes (A/N: Something I'd wear in real life) came up to Sonic's car. He couldn't stop laughing.

"Ha ha! Oh man! This race is a drag, but it don't mean you actually _drag_ your car down the street!" The hedgehog said.

"Well, what about your ride? It couldn't compare to the street beasts they got back in L.A.!" Sonic shot back, earning some _ooohs_ from the crowd. The hedgehog didn't take too kindly to this.

"Listen kid, I'm one of the best drag racers in this city. If you wanna run with me... oh well, it's _your_ bank you're losing." The hedgehog snapped. He stormed off to his ride, a metallic green 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse that had intricate pinstripe and tribal vinyls, along with a vinyl of the U.S. Flag across the driver's side door. The car also had a wide body kit and a spoiler, along with a carbon fiber hood.

Both drivers went up to the starting line.

"If you can't drive," the purple hedgehog growled, "back off now."

Sonic stood his ground and revved his engine.

"OK kid, let's go."

As soon as the starting signal was given, both drivers were off.

True to form, the purple hedgehog was a good drag racer, but seemed to lack experience. Sonic merely dropped back, and sat in the hedgehog's slipstream. The hedgehog did everything he could to shake Sonic, but Sonic was one step ahead of him.

The finish line was fast approaching. Sonic saw an opening, and used the speed he got from drafting off the Eclipse to smoothly pass him. The hedgehog tried to pass him on the outside, but he overworked his engine, and thick black smoke started coming out from the front of the car.

The purple hedgehog blew out his engine, and by default, Sonic won the race.

"Aww _man!_" The hedgehog cried. "What happened to my ride?"

Sonic walked over to the Eclipse and took as much of a look as he could without choking on the smoke. "Looks like your exhaust system is shot," Sonic explained.

"Grrr... I don't need some rook tellin' me what's wrong with my car!"

"Alright, be hard-headed, I don't care. What's your name?"

The hedgehog sighed. "Light the Hedgehog. They call me that because people say my ride moves at the speed of light." (A/N: Just so you know, this is the same Light from _20XX Bonnie and Clyde_.) Light then meekly forked over $400 for the drag race.

As Sonic drove off, he got a call from Shade (A/N: That line is really becoming cliché, isn't it?)

"_Not bad kid,_" Shade said. "_Now here's a little tip; no one here cares about the guy in second. It's all about building your rep. Nobody wants to see a close finish. The bigger the gap between you and the guy in second, the more rep you get. So don't just _beat_ your opponent on the track; _bury_ them._" With that, she hung up.

Unbeknownst to him though, a group of cars (a 2005 Ford Mustang GT, a 1998 Toyota Supra, a 2003 Nissan 350Z, and a 2004 Infiniti G35) with the same paint setup (metallic black), the same tribal vinyl, and the same rims (Momo TWIN 18") was watching the drag.

"That new kid got lucky," the driver of the Mustang said.

"Heh. He's just a flash-in-the-pan. He won't last," The driver of the Supra said.

"He won't threaten our position at the top, will he?" The driver of the 350Z asked.

"Nah. If these punk racers don't drive him out, we will," Said the driver of the G35. With that, all four cars drove off.

* * *

Ooooo! I wonder who was driving each car! If you've beaten _Underground 2_, then you should know who these guys are.

Rouge: And I –

TD: *covers Rouge's mouth* Don't spoil it! Oh, and just for the record, I added a few new stories to my C2.

Rouge: -muffled- Let me go!

Shade: Whatever!

TD: As always, read...

Shade: ...review...

Rouge: -still muffled- ...and check out Top's C2!

TD: Good night, everybody!

TD229


	5. Strength In Numbers?

Another reiteration of _Sonic Speed: Underground 2_ is on the way!

Shade/Rouge: Yahoo! -hearts in their eyes-

Light (TD): Calm down girls. I've been really thankful for the hits I've been getting, but I haven't been getting a whole lot of reviews.

Shade: We want to hear what you think about the story so far –

Rouge: Plus your opinion on whom those mysterious street racers were. We already know; we just want to see what you think about it.

Light: So without further ado...

Shade: WAIT! Aren't you forgetting something?

Light: Oh yeah... One: I am changing my pen name to Light the Hedgehog 229. Two: With this chapter, I am _officially_ able to become a beta reader! –does a flare to kip-up- OK, _now_ without further ado...

Shade/Rouge: Back to the story!

Disclaimer (Done by Rouge): Light doesn't own Sonic, me, Shade (copyright Bioware) or any of the Sonic Universe characters in this story; and any _Need for Speed: Underground 2_ references are owned by EA. Now where's my Chaos Emerald?

* * *

Having about $3000 dollars worth of illicit (but not watched) street racing money, he decided to go find a car graphics shop to get his ride made over. He had an idea of what he wanted to do.

Finding a nearby graphics shop in the city, Sonic called the owner to have him open the door. The door opened, and he drove in.

In the graphics shop, he found many cars being worked on. One of the cars was a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and it was being given a pearlescent purple paint job, along with a red, white, and blue wild vinyl. Sonic just marveled at the beauty of the cars.

"Can I help you?" One of the artists asked, snapping Sonic out of his reverie. She was a cheetah with a navy blue tank top, denim shorts that reached to about her knee, and strapped sandals.

"Oh, yeah. Can you help me with my ride?" Sonic asked, thumbing his Civic.

The cheetah gave it a critical eye. "Well," she told him, popping her gum, "not _all_ of the paint jobs will be available to you because some of your car parts are stock."

"What _will_ be available to me?"

"Basically, the base paint. Because you aren't too well known in Baltimore, we can only give you gloss paint and a few vinyls. But that's beside the matter; what paint job do you want for her?"

Sonic thought for a bit. "How about a blue paint job, with a stripe vinyl that goes from the front bumper, across the door, and touches the rear bumper?"

"OK. And the vinyl will be colored...?"

"Yellow."

"Alright. That'll be $350; $200 for the paint job, and $150 for the vinyl. We won't charge you until after the job is finished. Please sit in the waiting room, and wait for your number – 47 – to be called." The cheetah explained. She pointed out the waiting room. Sonic went over there and sat down near a cat who looked surprisingly like Blaze, only she had a racing jacket on over a plum midriff tee, black jeans, and white sneakers.

Sonic picked up the latest issue of _Import Tuner Magazine_ and began to read it. But he couldn't stop himself from sneaking glances at the cat. Finally his curiosity got the better of him.

"Who are you, and why do you look almost exactly like Blaze?" He asked. She looked up.

"I'm Harmony the Cat, Blaze's twin sister," she answered. "I heard about that sprint you won against her. She was pretty pissed after you beat her."

"Really, now?" Sonic asked.

"Yep. She's a really good racer; one of the best here. But if I were you, I'd get outta town now."

Sonic just raised an eyebrow. "Why? I've got Shade on my side, don't I?"

"Listen, Shade rules this city, and it's a _very_ good thing to be on her short list of allies. But there's this new crew coming up – the Street Shadows – and they're threatening to take over. Ain't hard to miss; look for these four cars; an '05 Ford Mustang GT, a '98 Toyota Supra, an '03 Nissan 350Z, and _especially_ an '04 Infiniti G35, all with a metallic black paint job, a red, maroon, and black vinyl, and a set of Momo TWIN 18-inch rims. If you see even _one_ of those cars in a race, don't even think of trying to win." Harmony explained.

"Thanks for the heads-up, but I ain't scared of those guys. I raced on the West Coast, where some of the most vicious street crews lived and raced." Sonic boasted, but then thought for a minute. "But now that you think about it, there _is_ strength in numbers. How about you and me start a crew?"

Harmony simply laughed. "Alright kid, but if you want _me_ on your crew, you'll have to beat me in my specialty race: Drift."

At that exact moment, the intercom sounded: "_Cars number 47 and 29 are finished, will the owners of cars 47 and 29 please return to the front lobby, your rides are waiting._"

"47's my Civic," Sonic said.

"And 29's my RX-8," Harmony told him. Her RX-8 was painted a glossy green with a yellow-and-black lightning vinyl across the door.

As Sonic and Harmony got their cars, she sent him a text message on his SMS. It said:

_If you want me to _really_ join your crew, follow me to the stadium. That's where we'll race._

Harmony revved her car's engine and peeled out of the graphics shop.

"Oh yeah," Sonic laughed. "This is gonna be fun." And with that, he drove off following Harmony to the stadium.

* * *

Light: I would like to welcome Harmony the Cat into the fold!

Harmony: Hi!

Shade: I hope you're nothing like your sister...

Harmony: I can be cold at times, but most often, I'm just looking to have fun.

Rouge: Sweet. I wonder what will happen at that drift race.

Light: You'll just have to wait till the next chapter to find out. Girls, take it away for me, please?

Harmony: As always, read...

Shade: ...review...

Rouge: ...and check out Light's C2!

Light: Good night everybody!


	6. From Conflict Comes Union

Light: Gomennasai! Gomen, gomen, gomen! I am _sooo_ sorry! I completely forgot about this story!

Rouge: Hmph!

Light: I'll try and update my stories a little more frequently, just PLEASE read this again!

* * *

Before long, Sonic and Harmony made their way to the stadium. Harmony paid off the security and got them in. Sonic got out of his car and met up with Harmony for the 411 on drifts.

"Okay kid, here's how a drift goes," Harmony started. "Both of us get separate runs around the track of three laps each. Three judges will be watching your run and judging you on your style, technicality, and your smoothness. Mesh your drift into one long seamless slide, and you'll put up something real nice. However, if you hit the wall you'll get docked a tenth of your points, depending on how many times you hit the wall in your run.

"This is a one-off drift, meaning you only get one run, and one chance to impress the judges. Other people run two-offs, three-offs, even drift tournaments. But whatever race you run, remember one thing: keep it smooth, keep it clean, and you'll do fine. You got all that?"

"I got it. Let's just get to it. They don't call me Sonic for nothin'!" Sonic exclaimed.

Harmony laughed. "Alright kid, let your car do the talkin'. Meet me at the starting line." Harmony got back into her car and drove up to the line, Sonic promptly following suit.

One of the judges, along with Harmony, was at the line, the judge with a coin.

"Harmony, call it," said the judge.

"Tails."

The judge flipped the coin, but it landed on heads.

The judge then turned to Sonic. "Sir, would you rather go first?"

"Meh... Let Harmony go," Sonic replied.

"Ha-ha! Alright boy, lemme show you how a _real_ racer drifts!" Harmony exclaimed. As she was going back to her RX-8, she spotted a group of four black cars: a 2005 Ford Mustang GT, a 1998 Toyota Supra, a 2003 Nissan 350Z, and a 2004 Infiniti G35.

Standing beside the Mustang was a red echidna with a bandanna tied around his head, a white wife-beater, and baggy denim jeans with holes in the knees.

Standing beside the Supra was a fuchsia chameleon wearing an Orioles baseball cap backwards, a gray tee, and khaki shorts.

Standing beside the Nissan was a white bat with a pink tube-top, and dark blue straight-leg jeans.

And standing beside the G35 was a black hedgehog with red highlights in his head quills wearing an all black outfit: black tee, black jeans. All four of them had a leather jacket on with the words 'Street Shadows' imposed on the back.

"Oh no. These guys?" Harmony groaned.

"Hey punks. What girl, you won't introduce us to your new friend?" the echidna taunted.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you have some damned gas station to rob?" Harmony spat.

"Watch it woman! Nobody talks to us that way!" the chameleon growled.

"You better watch it!" Sonic countered. "Ain't yo' momma teach you how to treat a lady?"

"Lady? Don't make us laugh! This girl ain't no lady!" the echidna said. "And besides rook, who are you to be tellin' us how to act?"

Sonic merely rolled his eyes. "Girl, who are these idiots?"

Harmony sighed. "The red echidna is Knuckles, and the purple chameleon is Espio-"

"Fuchsia, damn it!" Espio shot.

"Whatever! Those two are the self-proclaimed mouthpieces of the Shadows. The two 'silent-but-deadly' ones are Shadow, the black hedgehog and Rouge, the white bat."

"Why ain't you two sayin' much? Cat gotcha tongue? You two are just as much racers as I am!"

Rouge _hmph_ed. "You think that just 'cause you won a couple of races, that you're equal to us?"

"And with that, why should we even talk to someone who's under our level?" Shadow chuckled. "And it ain't like you'll catch up to us anytime soon. If I were you kid, I'd leave now, 'cause I don't wanna humiliate you anymore than I need to. And besides that, you can't even try to come close to us with that junkyard ride you got!"

Shadow got back in his car. "Greyhound stop's near the M&T Bank Stadium. Get yourself a ticket back to wherever you came from, 'cause you won't make it here."

And he drove off, with Knuckles, Espio, and Rouge in hot pursuit.

"_Oooooh,_ I _hate_ those guys!" Harmony shouted angrily. "They think just 'cause they got some hot rides, that they're better than every other racer in Baltimore!"

Sonic merely shook his head. "Is the drift still on?"

"The drift?" Harmony said. "Screw it! As of right now, you and I are officially in a crew!"

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed. "We are gonna prove to those punk-asses who really are the better racers!"

* * *

Light: I still can't believe it took me _five months_ to update this story! Maybe even more!

Rouge: What I can't believe is why you made me so condescending towards my Sonniku!

Light: Because Nikki, Caleb, and the Street Reapers in the real game think they're better than everybody else. I'm trying to keep this story as canon to NFSU2 as possible.

Harmony: Wait a minute – Where's Shade?

Light: She told me she was gonna hang out with Sonic – oh no. _Get to Shade's house, NOW!_

Harmony: Oh yeah! And don't forget to read...

Rouge: Review...

Light: And check out my C2! Goodnight! Now MOVE!

(Light, Rouge, and Harmony run to Shade's)


	7. You Win, You're In!

Light: Hello again, and welcome to another chapter of SSU2!

Rouge: How DARE you, Shade!

Shade: What? I couldn't have some fun with him?

Harmony: Your 'fun' made Sonic incoherent!

Sonic: *mumbles illegibly*

Light: *sweatdrops* OK... while the three girls are arguing and Sonic is being, well, Sonic, let's get on with the story!

* * *

After Sonic and Harmony created their crew (which they called Baltimore's Finest), they set out to find new crew members. They also got into minor scuffles with other crews, won crew races, and made a nice name for themselves across the Baltimore racing scene.

As you can imagine, they had a uniform graphics setup that included: a metallic blue paint job (courtesy of Shade, who 'put it on' Sonic's 'tab'), and a red-and-white wild vinyl.

While they were driving, Light's green Eclipse fell into stride.

"_Yo, Sonic! You lookin' for another racer?_" Light asked.

"_Yeah – we need all the help we can get,_" Sonic replied.

"_Alright, but listen up. I got a Circuit heat set up near Reisterstown Plaza. I betcha they're gonna turn it into a crew race; and the way you guys are burnin' out streets, those punks, the Street Shadows, are gonna show._"

"_Ain't nothin' we can't handle!_"

"_Oh, and one more thing? It just got made into the qualifying race for the Underground Racing League. You win, you're in._" Light snickered. "_Follow me if you want to get there. Good luck!_" And he drove off, Sonic and Harmony in hot pursuit.

When they got there, they saw a whole group of cars, paired into groups of two. The pair of cars were from the same crew, so they had the same graphics setup. They also saw Blaze. However, they were surprised to see she had changed her Skyline's setup to look exactly like the Baltimore's Finest crew cars. Harmony looked at Light.

"What? I'm already in a crew!"

"Wow... what a way to lie to us…" Harmony remarked wryly.

"Hey, she ain't half bad; she's got some experience in the tuner culture. She knows her way around these streets," Light countered.

"It don't matter to me -" Sonic said before he got interrupted by the whine of Knuckles' and Espio's cars.

"Oh hell no!" Sonic shouted.

Knuckles smirked. "What's up, rooks?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Light shouted.

"Don't worry, we aren't here to race; we just wanna... 'congratulate' the winner of this race and 'induct' them into the Underground Racing League," Espio said coolly.

"Good luck out there rooks; you'll need it." Knuckles smirked slyly, and walked with Espio over to the grand stands.

Light gritted his teeth. "Grrr... there's something up here. I don't like the way Espio was talking."

"They've probably got a stake in the race; there's no way those guys would come down here if they didn't feel any of these tuners posed a threat to the status quo," Blaze said offhandedly.

"This probably won't be good. Blaze, we're gonna do this race. Harmony, keep an eye out for any of those cars. I don't want any interference," Sonic said. He went back to his Civic (which he substantially upgraded) and drove to the line, Blaze following pursuit.

All the other cars lined up and revved their engines. The flag girl dropped her hands, and the last thing anyone heard at that line was the sound of tires squealing.

* * *

Rouge: Is Sonic gonna be okay?

Light: Meh... he's gonna clear up next chapter.

Rouge: I'm not so sure...

Sonic: ... Scared... Shade... don't want it...

Light: *Sweatdrops* Then again, maybe not... Anyway, read, review, and check out my C2! Goodnight everybody!


	8. We Made It! Or Did We?

Light: Hello again, and merry Christmas! Ho-ho-ho!

Rouge: *dressed up in a skimpy Santa's Elf outfit* And what a merry Christmas it will be...

Light: Is this a subliminal hint of some kind?

Rouge: *shrugs* You tell me; _you're_ the author!

Light: True, true. Anyways, I've been reading a bit of Naruto fan fiction, and I'm surprised that they actually have a couple of street racing stories out there! One of them is called "Race" by KNO. It's on my favorite stories list; check it out!

Rouge: And today is the day we find out who wins the URL Qualifier!

Light: Let's get into it!

* * *

The race started, and a non-descript angel-white RX-7 pulled into the lead, with Blaze and Sonic following close behind. At the very back was Harmony, who kept an eye out for interferences.

Blaze moved right to pass the FD on the outside, but it moved to block her. Every move Blaze made, the RX was seemingly one step ahead of. Blaze tried her hardest to pass the RX-7, but it seemed as though the FD knew exactly where Blaze would come from.

"Ngh! The FD's not budging! Sonic, help me distract it!"

"_Alright, I hear ya,_" Sonic replied, and moved past Blaze to try and intercept the FD. The Mazda was too busy focusing on Sonic that he never saw Blaze move to the front of the pack.

The driver wasn't having any of it.

The FD got close to Blaze's left-hand rear quarter and used a picture-perfect PIT maneuver on her, spinning the Skyline out.

"Gah! Sonic! Get past the RX and hold the lead!" Blaze cried.

"_What are you gonna do?_"

"Just trust me."

Meanwhile, Harmony had hacked into the GPS System for the RX7. She heard some rather interesting things going on in there. At the same time that Blaze moved inside, she heard Espio's voice over the FD's GPS system.

"_She's moving inside, to your right. Block her._"

Ironically enough, when Blaze passed the FD, she also heard Knuckles losing his temper.

"_You idiot! We hired you for a reason! You're supposed to be one of the most lethal street racers in the _world_; get that... thing out of the race, _NOW!"

It didn't take long for Harmony to put two and two together.

"Crap! Sonic! Sonic, do you read me?"

"_Yeah, I hear you; what's going on?_" Sonic asked.

"Blaze was right, at least partly; Knuckles and Espio are giving orders to the driver of that RX-7 you're having problems with!"

"_Ah, hell! What are we gonna do?_"

"The only thing we _can_ do; beat him at his own game. Play aggressively; aim to total his car."

"_I just hope Blaze can get back in it; she's been out practically since the first lap!_"

"Really?" _Hmm... If what Sonic says is true, then… _A smile spread across Harmony's face.

"Sonic? I think my sister's got a plan."

"_She better,_" Sonic grumbled. "_If she doesn't, this may be her first – and last – race for Baltimore's Finest._"

"Relax; she'll be back before the final lap. Just sit back and watch the fireworks."

By the final lap, the RX was safely in the lead, and the two Shadows felt like they had this race wrapped up...

That is, until they saw a metallic blue Skyline coming up fast.

"What the hell?" Knuckles shouted. "I thought the RX took care of that cat!"

Espio gritted his teeth. "Obviously not, seeing as how she's burning rubber and getting too close to first for comfort," he growled.

Soon enough, Blaze regained second place. As she passed by Sonic, he gave her his all-too-famous grin.

"Glad you're back in it."

She merely nodded, and sped up till she reached the FD. She moved inside, and the FD moved to block her.

A stupid mistake and one that fell right into her plan.

As soon as the FD moved right, Blaze moved back inside, reached the RX-7's quarter panel and spun him out. The FD did not right itself in time, and crashed into the wall, destroying its engine.

As a result, Blaze won the race, with Sonic about one second behind her.

The Baltimore's Finest crew got together at the start/finish line and celebrated.

"Yeah Blaze! I knew we could count on you!"

"Not half bad, girl! Keep it up!"

"Heh, those guys didn't stand a chance against me. They were done from the start."

Meanwhile Knuckles and Espio fumed.

"I don't BELIEVE this! How could those – those - _posers_ win that race!"

"I don't know Knux, but I do know this: Sonic the Hedgehog and his little crew will pay. We'll make'em wish they never set foot or tire on Baltimore's streets."

As Sonic got back to his car and drove off towards Shade's garage, he was glad that at least Blaze won and got Baltimore's Finest into the Underground Racing League. Just as he reached the intersection before he got to Shade's, he thought about surprising Shade with a new car.

His thoughts were cut short as a very large Hummer H2 crashed head-on into Sonic's car.

_Oh no. Not Los Angeles. Not again._

* * *

Light: Oh noes! Sonic's been in a wreck! What'll happen to him?

Rouge: Oh no, my Sonniku has been hurt!

Sonic: Guys, I'm right here! *takes a look at Rouge and has a massive anime nosebleed*

*Light and Rouge sweatdrop*

Light: That was awkward...

Rouge: Yeah... Help Sonic get well soon; read, review, and check out Light's C2!

Light: Goodnight, everybody!


End file.
